Summary
When an army of invading Martians lands in England, panic and terror seize the population. As the aliens traverse the country in huge three-legged machines, incinerating all in their path with a heat ray and spreading noxious toxic gases, the people of the Earth must come to terms with the prospect of the end of human civilization and the beginning of Martian rule.
Review
Extract of review by Sci-fi Fantasy Lit Chick, 14 April 2014
The War of the Worlds holds a special place in my heart because it was the first science fiction work I ever read. I first read an abridged, illustrated version for kids when I was ten, but I loved the story so much, I wanted to read the “grown up” version soon afterwards. I did and The War of the Worlds remains one of my favorite novels to this day. Not to mention, for me, this remains the alien invasion gold standard. If you want to pen an alien invasion story, you must peruse this novel first.
Thus, I can’t find too many faults with it. The writing is tight, the plotting is perfectly paced, and the narrator is genuine and authentic. His first-hand account of the Martian assault is further personalized as he fears for himself, his wife, and what is becoming of the world he’s always known. His encounters with complacent, ignorant onlookers only heighten his frustrations in that these folks are headed straight into danger and nothing he can do will save them.
Speaking of which, part of what inspired Wells to pen this novel was a wish to condemn social complacency. The novel, which was originally written in serialized form, takes on the topic of colonialism. Wells wasn’t entirely against British expansion but he did disagree with some of the methods, such as killing off “primitive” natives of a land that colonizers sought to possess. Thus, The War of the Worlds turns this on its head: the colonizers, who believe they are too high and mighty to be taken, are the ones being invaded and slaughtered.
As much as I like the narrator (who, I believe, is a foil for Wells), I also find appeal in two other characters, the artilleryman and the curate. These figures serve as contrasts in extremes: while the artilleryman assumes mankind will have to restart civilization to escape the Martian oppressors, the curate has given up all hope on humanity.
The artilleryman’s bold predictions for the fate of mankind paint a desolate image that even the narrator seems to have a hard time wanting to grasp. But his character serves to show that, through hard times, he has become more bitter than emboldened. Contrast his more determined view of humanity with the curate’s wishy-washy whining. This is a bit ironic seeing as the curate is a religious figure but his personal faith is weak. While I can’t say what Wells’ religious views were, it’s clear that he had no tolerance for folks who purported to be religious but didn’t live or act like what their teachings taught.”
Continue reading on Sci-fi Fantasy Lit Chick blog
Trailer of 1953 film version
The End and After 